Álex Baena struck in the 89th minute to snatch Atlético Madrid a 1-0 win at Espanyol and put pressure on the La Liga leaders, Barcelona. Diego Simeone’s side are second, two points behind Hansi Flick’s champions, who visit third-placed Real Betis later on. Baena smashed home from the edge of the box to claim the Rojiblancos an important late victory from a tight game in Cornella.
Atlético have now won six consecutive games across all competitions. Both sides had chances in the first half, but Espanyol came closest as Leandro Cabrera struck the crossbar. Marcos Llorente hit the same woodwork after an hour with a long-range effort for Atlético.
Espanyol brought on Javi Puado after a long-term knee injury, as the captain made his first appearance since January. Julián Álvarez was bright for Atlético as a substitute as he continues to find his form after trying to force a move away in the summer. Atlético have left it late several times this season to claim points and did so again, with Baena thumping home from Alvarez’s pass to earn his team’s victory.
Jan Oblak made a good save in stoppage time from Pol Lozano to ensure his team kept the three points. On Sunday Real Madrid, fourth, host Sevilla among other fixtures. In the buildup to that game, the Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho, said on Saturday that if he were Vinícius Júnior he would have left the club this summer.
The Brazilian was sent off during Madrid’s win over Villarreal last weekend for hair pulling and was banned for four matches, meaning he will miss the clásico against Barcelona on 25 October. Vinícius, who signed a new contract tying him to Real Madrid until 2032, has also been targeted regularly by opposition fans and been racially abused on many occasions since joining Madrid in 2018. In this last summer I would have forced an exit to a league, a country, to somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him.” Mourinho took Vinícius off during the 4-3 Champions League win at Roma on Wednesday, with the winger still struggling to return to the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti.
Mourinho said he was happy that Vinícius’s ban was four matches, saying he thought some hidden figures at the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee “would give him one or two more”. In Germany, Borussia Dortmund returned to the top of the Bundesliga table despite a stodgy 0-0 draw away to Union Berlin. Serhou Guirassy had a golden chance to snatch all three points for his side at the end of a match of few opportunities, but headed just wide with 11 minutes remaining to cap a poor game up front for the Dortmund striker.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
